03 August 2010

How do you know? Unless you try.

In the last post, I was debating whether I should try to cover up a mistake in the gilding by adding black to the piece of work. It had been suggested to me to make a high quality print of the piece and try the black on that first. I tried to do just that, but I found it very difficult to print out the gold to my liking. So, whereas, making a print is usually the best way to try something you are unsure of, in the case of gilding I found it did not work for me. Since this piece was started as a final 'draft', I decided to just go for it. Below is the result. It is definitely different from the previous version. And even though it is not bad, it is not the look I want for this piece. So my final will be as in the previous post, just gilding on vellum.



That's the great thing about art. Some things work, some don't, but you can always try again. Sometimes I get bogged down in the fear of messing up. Then I freeze and cannot create anything, instead of just trying.

3 comments:

  1. what a great experiment Jo! It looks really different to the first one, and like you I prefer the first, but the second has its own strength and its good to know how that approach ends up looking. Funny isn't it how we freeze and forget to just 'leap'? Great effort - look forward to the final

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  2. I get so much out of your posts Jo! Our guild had the opportunity to bring Reggie for his latest year long class, but I balked because I really want to take his first class before the Primitive to Modern class. Seeing all your homework makes me wish I had just taken the leap.

    I love your lettering for this piece and the four bands you've included in your design. I appreciate that you discuss the labor pains behind a piece. The gilding is beautiful. :)

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  3. Thanks for your comments! It was a process but worth the exercise and time invested. The addition of the gray color wash did hide the mistake. So the goal was achieved for this particular piece.

    Now on to the next problem solving task!

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